The invention pertains to medical treatment apparatus and methods and, more particularly, to user interfaces therefor. The invention has application in facilitating user interaction with medical apparatus, such as peritoneal dialysis equipment, by way of non-limiting example.
Today, computers can be found nearly everywhere, including in medical equipment at hospitals, laboratories, and even patients' bedsides. The equipment typically includes, in addition to a central processing unit and monitor, a keyboard, mouse and/or other input devices. The latter allow users (e.g., doctors, nurses, patient care technicians, other health care providers, and/or patients themselves) to enter data and/or to control the medical equipment—often, by selecting from among options displayed on the monitor. Mice and keyboards, in particular, have fallen out of favor in healthcare settings due to recent studies implicating them in the spread of disease. They are increasingly being replaced with touchpads and touch screens, which can be cleaned more easily.
There are a number of challenges in designing computerized medical equipment, not the least of which is integrating keyboards, mice, touchpads, or other input devices with displays (on the monitor) to form “user interfaces” that can be readily understood and efficiently operated. A good user interface, for example, must respond to user input (e.g., keyboard taps or mouse motions) quickly and accurately. Often a pointer or cursor, that is, a graphic shaped like an arrowhead, plus sign, pointing finger, an “I” bar, or the like identifying the target of user input, is instrumental in providing that feedback. Yet this raises a further challenge: integrating keyboards, mice, touchpads (or other input devices), and displays with the cursor. Various solutions addressing these issues (for example, hardware-based cursor control circuitry) have been suggested in the prior art, but these can be costly and/or limiting.
An object of the invention is to provide improved medical treatment apparatus and methods. Related objects provide such apparatus and methods as can be used in a wide variety of medical settings, from laboratory to bedside.
A further object of the invention is to provide such apparatus and methods as facilitate integration of computers with medical equipment. A still further object of the invention is to provide such apparatus and methods as facilitate integration of input devices with such computers and/or medical equipment.
A still further object of the invention is to provide such apparatus and methods as facilitate display of a user interface.
Yet a still further object of the invention is to provide such apparatus and methods as can be readily implemented and used on a range of available platforms.